Cool, Calm, and Confounded
by lady.katnoire
Summary: After stealthily returning Adrien's phone, Marinette is stress free- that is until Alya invites herself and Marinette to Adrien's and Nino's movie plans a minute later. Ecstatic to see a movie with her "sweet Adrien", but also nervously terrified, Marinette attempts to remain cool, calm, and collected. Easier said than done considering the night doesn't go exactly as planned . . .
1. Chapter 1

**After stealthily returning Adrien's phone by slipping it into his bag, Marinette is stress free- that is until Alya invites herself along with Marinette to Adrien's and Nino's movie hangout a minute later. Ecstatic to see a movie with her _sweet Adrien_ , but also nervously terrified, Marinette attempts to remain cool, calm, and collected. Much easier said than done, considering the night doesn't go exactly as planned. . .**

 **This story proceeds the episode _Copycat._ Don't be fooled, a few misunderstandings for comedic effect, but ultimately Marinette x Adrien.**

* * *

 _Chapter I._

"Alya, I have no idea what to wear!" Marinette groaned into her webcam while pacing back and forth, her disoriented room a strong reflection of her thoughts. Half of her wardrobe had been dispersed around her floor and draped over her bed, desk, and every other piece of furniture she owned. She had already tried on a total of four different outfits, but none were _perfect_ enough for the movie hangout with Adrien—and Alya and Nino, but Marinette was only focused on her blonde-haired, green-eyed classmate.

Alya shook her head at the computer screen, marking the seventh time during their video conversation, "I told you, just go with the first one." She was referring to a cream off-shoulder long-sleeve top with plain blue jeans and black flats. All tied together with splash of colour from a light-pink barret. Alya knew that her friend was being overly dramatic, something she had gotten used to at this point, but she was also aware of how important the hangout was to Marinette, so had stayed online since she received a frantic video call thirty minutes prior.

Marinette let out a heavy sigh and slumped onto her bed. She looked at the clothes scattered around her room and became self-conscious over her lack of progression. Resting her head on her knees which were pulled tightly against her chest, she looked at her laptop on her desk across the room and gave Alya a distant gaze, "I don't know Alya. Maybe this is a sign that I just shouldn't go. I already see it happening: getting tongue-tied, spilling soda, tripping in the dark theatre . . ." With worst-case scenarios running through her mind, she sprawled onto her bed from her fetal position, and buried her face into her pillow, attempting to silence her imagination.

"Girl, this is your chance to go to the movies with Adrien, **Adrien**! If you think I'm just gonna let you walk away from this opportunity, you're insane." She knew that Marinette had amazing qualities and anyone would be lucky to be her friend, let alone be the center of her thoughts. She was sincere, generous, clever, striking, and more. Yes, she was very clumsy, but it kept her humorous and light hearted. But somewhere along her list of traits, Marinette was also very shy and self-conscious, which confused Alya, because she really did not have any reason to be. Either way, she would always be there to push Marinette outside of her comfort zone, and today there was definitely going to be plenty of pushing.

Marinette lifted her head from under her pillow, "But Alya, I can't even choose something to wear, how will I even get through the entire night?"

Now it was Alya's turn to sigh, "Don't worry, I'll be right next to you, I'll make sure that you don't mess up." She paused for a brief moment, "Give me one second, I'll be right back." Marinette was too distracted to see the smirk on Alya's face, and continued to lay on her bed in defeat.

. . .

No more than ten minutes later, Marinette heard the bell to her family's bakery ring, and a familiar voice she could vaguely make out saying, "Don't worry Mr. and Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I'll just head up". Seconds after, Alya swung open the door to Marinette's room where she witnessed her friend in the same slumped position as when she had disconnected the video call. Marinette, looked up from her sprawled position to see her friend swinging a brown paper shopping bag in front of her face.

Marinette followed the bag with her eyes, "What do you have in there?"

Alya excitedly pulled Marinette into a sitting position and jumped onto the bed next to her while flipping the bag upside down to reveal its content. A sleeveless orange sundress landed on Marinette's lap and she picked it up with momentary confusion. It had pockets on the sides and buttons along the front, stopping right at the snitched waistline. Its bottom half flowed and landed right above the knee "It's a dress. Wear it!"

Marinette's eyes became wide and she shook her head vigorously, "No, Alya, you just bought it, you haven't even worn it yourself yet." She protested while recalling the hour-long shopping trip, which she had tagged along, to help Alya find the perfect summer ensemble.

Alya simply responded by ripping the price tag off of the seam and letting out a small chuckle, "And knowing your track record, it will probably have soda and popcorn spilt on it by the end of the night." Marinette was both surprised and touched by her friend's gesture. "Consider it a sacrificial offering for the betterment of humanity" Alya joked with a wink.

Marinette beamed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is perfect, I promise I'll take care of it. You're the best Alya!" She let out a squeal as she leaned towards her friend to embrace her in a tight hug. She stood up enthusiastically, as if the dress gave her an electric charge, and held it against her body. Alya watched as she twirled around with the dress and stared at herself in the mirror while grinning widely at her reflection. She looked at her ecstatic friend while shaking her head for the eight time that hour, but unlike the previous seven, it was out of humor in seeing her best friend so excited for a mere movie hangout.

* * *

"Dude, what are you planning to wear?" Nino asked Adrien over the phone. It was 6:40 PM and the group of friends agreed to meet at the movie theatre in twenty minutes.

"Nothing special" Adrien replied distractedly while reading through the most recent Ladyblog post on his (unnecessarily) large computer monitor, "just what I wore to school today. Why?"

"What you wore to school?" Nino repeated sounding insulted.

His tone snapped Adrien out of his distracted state as he spun around in his computer chair and stood up. "Yeah, why is something wrong with that?" he asked his friend nervously while making his way to his mirror. Despite being one of the most well-known teen models in Paris, Adrien was very insecure. Not in his appearance, but in his behaviour. After being homeschooled for years, based on his father's command, Adrien had become mildly self-conscious in certain social situations. Having countless extra-curricular activities did not help him build many friendships either, but he was glad to at least be enrolled in a school with people his age. He looked over his choice of clothing in the mirror while trying to find flaws in his outfit.

"Adrien, you're great and all, but sometimes you can be so clueless." Nino was not one to seem very perceptive. In fact, he was so laid back that some people even thought he was more oblivious than not. But he was actually fairly aware of his surroundings. Nino was always one to take note of the small details around him, much more than his friend Adrien at least. He was not completely sure about his assumptions at first, but the movie plans sealed it—he noticed how Alya was always trying to catch Adrien's attention. How she was constantly calling him over to speak to her and Marinette. Based on these observations, tied together with Alya practically begging to join the movie hangout, he concluded that she _had it_ _bad_ for Adrien. As fellow classmate and close friend of both parties, he took it upon himself to get the two (potential) lovebirds together given the chance. And boy, was this movie hangout a great chance! "Adrien, Adrien," Nino shook his head in dissatisfaction, "we are going to the movies with two ladies, _please_ try to look presentable."

Adrien pulled his cellphone inches from his face and gave it a confused look before placing it back onto his ear, "It's just Alya and Marinette."

"Man, just trust me on this one. I'll make sure this movie hangout runs smoothly."

"What are you talking—" before Adrien could question his friend's mischievous tone further, the line had already disconnected. He sighed at Nino's bluntness and turned to the mirror to look over his choice of clothing. "Nino's crazy." He spoke quietly to himself while making his way to his bedroom door. But before he could even take a step out of his room, his small magical kwami hovered towards him while tossing a piece of camembert into his mouth.

"So, are you excited for your double date?" Plagg questioned teasingly. A rascally smile spread widely across his face.

"It's not a double date Plagg." Adrien retaliated, maybe a little bit too defensively.

Plagg hovered right up to Adrien's face "Okayyy, whatever you say."

The teenage boy responded by furrowing his brows and walking out of his room with clear annoyance. He descended down the stairs towards the main foyer, but before he could reach the bottom of the staircase, he paused and took a double take back at the direction of his bedroom. Within seconds he entered his room once again walking by Plagg who was eating more cheese on Adrien's study desk. "Not a word Plagg." His magical comrade responded with a snarky laugh as Adrien dug through his closet. He pulled out a brown leather jacket which he swapped with his usual white buttoned one. "I realized that my jacket had a stain on it. That's all." Adrien avoided the knowing gaze of his kwami before his cheeks became tinted pink.

"Whatever you say." Plagg repeated teasingly, while flying into his usual spot in Adrien's inside pocket.

"We better go now or we're going to be late." He changed the subject while heading into his father's white limousine, where his driver awaited him.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm excited to flesh this story out. The series is amazing, and I love stories that fill in the gaps, so thought that I would give it a try.** Please let me know what you think :)


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter II._

"Hurry up Marinette, we're going to be late."

"Okay, okay, one second." Alya was already outside while Marinette was hopping on one foot by the doorway trying to slip on her shoes. Although her clothing situation was solved, much thanks to Alya, Marinette had spent another twenty minutes conflicted over which shoes to wear. She finally settled on a pair of nude sandals. Marinette and Alya made their way to the cinema, which was only four minutes away by car. But since it was such a beautiful summer day, the two friends decided to take a fifteen minute walk to their destination instead. Though as a result of Marinette's lengthy wardrobe fiasco, rather than a leisurely stroll, it was more of a brisk tread.

"Are you sure I look alright?" Marinette's eyes fell to the ground as she twirled her fingers around one another with uncertainty.

"Marinette, this is the fifth time you've asked me that." Alya was starting to become displeased at her friend's lack of confidence. She pulled Marinette's arm so that they were both at a halt, and placed her hands reassuringly onto her friend's shoulders. "Marinette, you look great! Adrien is going to drop onto his knees when he sees you. . . figuratively speaking of course. Just be confident!" Marinette smiled back at Alya and nodded while they retrieved their quick pace—Marinette retrieving a bounce in her step as well.

The orange summer dress really made her glow. Even Alya thought that it looked better on her friend than it did on herself. Marinette looked radiant, especially when she was visibly confident. "I'm going to make sure you guys sit together." Alya spoke to her friend while excitingly latching onto her arm. "Here's the game plan. . ."

* * *

Nino and Adrien stood outside of the cinema, awaiting their classmates—or as Nino saw it, their 'dates'. "Man, they're ten minutes late!" Nino was clearly agitated since he was afraid that they would not get good seats if they delayed any longer. Adrien only watched as Nino paced back and forth impatiently.

"It's alright Nino, I'll just buy the tickets." He calmly headed to the ticket vendor to purchase four tickets to the latest action movie that was just released during the previous week. While Adrien was waiting in line, nearby giggling caught Nino's attention and halted his pacing. He spotted Marinette in the middle of telling Alya a seemingly humorous story. Marinette had such an animated way of speaking and used her hands and facial expressions whenever she spoke. To Nino, it really shone through as a quality he found very cute in his classmate.

"Alya! Marinette!" Nino called the two girls over as they made their way to the no-longer-agitated Nino and apologized for being late. Marinette continued her story, adding Nino into the lively conversation.

Adrien turned around after purchasing the tickets to see his three classmates laughing hysterically. He smiled at sight. It was moments like this when Adrien truly felt like a teenage boy, and not just his father's prodigy. Something as typical as going to the movies with friends was dear to Adrien, as he did not have much time outside of school to hang out with people he was close to. He approached the group that was winding down from a clearly buoyant conversation. "Hey Alya, hi Marinette! I bought the tickets." He greeted the girls while holding the movie tickets up.

"Hey Adrien! Sorry we're late." Alya peered at her friend who had become too frozen to return his greeting, so she continued to move the conversation along herself—something she was also used to. "Wow, nice jacket, doesn't he look slick Marinette?" She nudged her friend with her elbow, and watched Marinette blush as she began to form an incoherent sentence.

"Y-y-yeah, it n-nice. I mean, i-it looks nice Adrien. S-sorry we came late." By the end of her stammering, her eyes went from looking forward to staring at the ground in embarrassment.

"No worries Marinette, I'm just glad you guys could make it." Adrien replied extra friendly to ease the seemingly nervous Marinette. He was kind of disappointed to see Marinette so excited and vibrant one second, but becoming shy as soon as he entered the conversation. This definitely was not the first time this has happened, and he could not help but think that somewhere along the line he did something that troubled Marinette without realizing. He hoped that he could change her perception of him by the end of the hangout. In fact, he decided to make it his goal for the evening.

Alya interrupted his thoughts, "Why don't you guys go inside and save our seats? Marinette and I will grab some snacks since you guys bought the tickets." She escorted her tense friend away from the scene and towards the popcorn vendor.

As the two boys made their way into the theatre, Nino pulled Adrien closer, "Dude, Alya thinks you look 'slick'." He whispered, while wagging his eyebrows at his friend in an attempt to get the idea of Alya's potential interest into his friend's oblivious head.

Adrien understood what Nino was implying and shook his head, "Nino, you think way too much into things."

He received a skeptical response from his friend, "Oh really? I supposed you just decided to wear that new leather jacket because you were feeling a little bit chilly?" he sarcastically spoke while raising an eyebrow accusingly.

"My white jacket had a stain!" Adrien retaliated, once again a bit too forcefully. He could feel Plagg snickering in his pocket, which irritated him even more. "Let's just try to find some good seats." Adrien pushed past his friend to hide his flushed face.

* * *

 **A/N: Here's another chapter. Chapter 3 is on my laptop and just needs to be read through again, so it shouldn't take long. Thank you so much for all of the follows and favorites, I truly appreciate it :)**

 **P.S. Just finished watching the episode _The Puppeteer_ yesterday! I loved it, along with _Lady Wifi_ and _Evillustrator_ it's definitely one of my favorites.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter III._

Alya waited until the two boys were inside the theatre before placing her hands on Marinette shoulders and speaking, "Girl, get a grip! This is your chance to win him over. You can do this!"

Marinette's face slowly regained its natural colour as she took a few deep breaths. "You're right Alya, I can do this . . . So what's the plan again?" She asked with anxiety evident in her voice. Alya placed their order for two large bags of popcorn and four sodas.

"It's simple, we'll make sure that you sit next to Adrien. Then when the popcorn runs out, I'll grab more while taking Nino with me." She smiled confidently as she imagined the plan in her mind while paying for the popcorn and refreshments. "Then I'll fake an allergic reaction and make him take me home so that you two can be alone for the rest of the movie."

Alya's sureness was all Marinette needed to feel confident in the plan. Alya was always willing to help her in any situation. She knew that she could always count on her friend matter how trivial the case. When it came to Adrien, she was the best wingman Marinette could ever ask for. Always trying to call him over to speak to them and trying to draw as much attention as possible to Marinette. Even this movie hangout was a result of Alya looking out for her.

The two girls walked towards the theatre room while holding the movie snacks and paused right in front of the doors. They turned to each other and nodded reassuringly, almost as if they were about to enter a battlefield. "Remember M, cool, calm, and collected . . . and just don't forget to breath." She winked at her friend which with earned an excited giggle. They entered the dark theatre room which had already started to play the movie previews and scanned for their counterparts. Nino and Adrien were sitting next to each other near the front of the cinema. The girls made their way to their friends, with Alya pushing past the seated audience members and Marinette apologizing to each person she passed in front of.

When they had finally reached their classmates, they passed along the drinks and popcorn while receiving grateful smiles in return. With determination, Marinette eyed the seat next to Adrien, but before she could plant herself beside him, her mission was suddenly interrupted by Nino.

"Hey Marinette, sit here next to me!" he spoke in a loud whisper while patting the seat next to him. Marinette's only response was to look at Alya in panic.

Alya caught her distressed expression and disrupted Nino by claiming the offered seat while remarking, "Too late, slow poke." This action earned a confused look, as well as a small appreciative smile from Marinette.

. . .

Adrien was silently relieved that Alya took the seat next to Nino. He really wanted to spend as much time as possible with Marinette in order to leave a good impression. So before Marinette could even contemplate taking the seat next to Alya, which was the furthest from his, Adrien saw his chance and took it without hesitation, "Hey Marinette, come sit next to me!" Marinette simply nodded and awkwardly made her way to the chair. He watched as she planted herself next to him. But instead of easing into her seat, she sat forward with her shoulders tense. Adrien had a feeling that he was the source of her discomfort—which could not be more true, but in a different way than he assumed. A pang of guilt shot through him as he realized that because of his self-interest the poor girl would be too uncomfortable to enjoy the movie. He looked over at her hopefully as he gestured towards the bag of popcorn that they were obligatorily meant to share, "Would you like some?"

Marinette shook her head forcefully, "N-n-no t-thanks." He watched as she faced forward, still tense as ever, to watch the movie previews. He did the same, but was paying more attention to Marinette from his peripheral vision, hoping she would relax from her clear discomfort.

. . .

Nino wondered why Alya missed the perfect opening to sit close to his best friend.

 _This doesn't make any sense. I'm trying to help her out, can't she see it._ He snuck a peak at Alya who was also watching the previews while smiling and munching on popcorn.

 _Maybe she was too nervous to sit next to him? Nah, Alya's not the type to get nervous. Maybe she just didn't see the opportunity I set up for her. She can be kinda stubborn—_ His thoughts were interrupted when he realized that his, intended, quick glance at her became a full-on stare.

"Can I help you?" She asked with her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Oh hey Alya, what's up?" He asked nonchalantly while whipping his head forward to watch the previews. He could see Alya scratch her head out of confusion from the corner of his eye as she pulled out her cellphone.

. . .

Five minutes passed since the two girls took their seats, but to Marinette it felt like an eternity. The title sequence of the movie finally began as espionage music played and opening credits flooded the screen. Marinette felt her phone vibrate in her purse and pulled it out as discreetly as possible not to disturb anyone with the bright light of her phone display. She opened the new text message she received. _"Cool, calm, and collected!"_ was written on her smart phone screen. Alya could clearly see how tense Marinette was despite being three seats away. Marinette responded by taking a deep breath and easing into her seat. One thing she was powerless against was how hot her face felt. She silently thanked the theatre for being dark. Marinette took and sip of her iced soda in the hopes of cooling herself down.

Although she tried as hard as she could to pay attention to the movie, she wasn't able to. The fact that Adrien was sitting right next to her stole 90% of her attention. She watched him from the corner of her eye as her cheeks continued to burn.

. . .

Alya was preoccupied as well, cconstantly glancing over at her friend to make sure she was doing alright while eating some of the popcorn. If she wanted to drag Nino out for refills, she would have to keep eating. She cursed inwardly at the large bag wishing she had gotten a smaller size, but was glad that Nino seemed to have a large appetite for movie snacks as well.

* * *

Twenty minutes into the movie, and Adrien had absolutely no idea what was happening in its plot. Instead his thoughts were filled with encounters with Marinette, trying to think back at his actions to figure out where he went wrong. Yes, Marinette looked a little bit more comfortable, but she was pressed against the left side of her seat as if trying to get as far away from him as possible. He let out a small sigh, too quiet for anyone to take note of, and began to think back to his interactions with his classmate:

 _She stuck around my photoshoot at the park that one time. And she was more than happy to have me wear the hand-made derby hat that she designed. Then again, it was a competition, anyone who entered would have been happy to have won. She also seemed like she enjoyed my company during the race between Alix and Kim . . . where exactly did I go wrong?_

Adrien peaked over at the shy girl sitting next to him while feeling disappointed. But he shook it off when he realized that worrying over the past is not going to fix anything in the present. He know that sitting next to Marinette was already a great opportunity to have her get to know him, and for him to get to know her as well outside of her timid shell. He leaned towards her and whispered, "How are you enjoying the movie?"

She jumped at his closeness and responded, "Y-yeah, I mean, it's great so far." After hesitating for a brief moment, she asked the question back to him, "H-how about you, are you enjoying yourself?" Even though the theatre was dark, he could make out her expression by the light coming from the projector. He wasn't entirely sure, but her eyes appeared large and pleading as if trying to get his approval. He brushed it off, thinking he was reading into the situation more than he should.

"Yeah, I'm loving it!" he whispered enthusiastically—which was a blatant lie on his part since he wasn't paying the slightest attention. Marinette smiled and turned to face forward, but before he lost her attention, he offered her some popcorn by holding the bag towards her. This time, to Adrien's satisfaction, she took some.

. . .

Nino noticed Alya's constant glances over at Marinette and Adrien and shook his head. She was even beginning to lean into his personal space to get a better view. Nino let out a small sigh, _This girl has it bad. I need to give her a push._ He dug through his thoughts to figure out an idea to give Adrien and Alya some alone time. As he reached down to grab some more popcorn, he noticed that the bag he shared with her had already been half eaten. _Wow Alya has a big appetite._

Then something clicked. _Hmm, if we manage to finish the entire bag, I could drag Marinette out of the theatre to get a refill and stall, so that Alya and Adrien could have some alone time._ Nino smiled at himself over his plan and his attention was drawn to stuffing his face with as much popcorn as possible.

. . .

 _Thank goodness he's helping me finish this bag._ Alya thought as she witnessed Nino scarfing down the movie snack. She was starting to get sick of the buttery popcorn considering the amount she ate all by herself. She peered over at her friend to make sure she was doing alright. Marinette looked much less anxious than ten minutes prior, which was good, but since Alya knew her best friend extremely well, she could tell that if the lights were on in the theatre, Marinette would be seen blushing ferociously. She caught her friend in snippets of conversation with Adrien, and while pretending to pay attention to the movie, she leaned her ear towards them to listen in. Although she could barely make out what they were talking about, she was glad that Marinette finally gathered the courage to remain in a seemingly coherent conversation with the guy that she admired so much.

. . .

From the outside, they were just a group of four classmates watching a movie together. But in actuality they were a lot more than that.

A girl both ecstatic and nervous to be sitting next to the boy that she admires.

A boy concerned over making a positive impression on the shy girl who sits behind him in his class.

A boy trying to plan out how to get two classmates alone with each other to realize their flourishing love.

And a girl keeping an eye on her ecstatic and nervous friend, ready to jump in whenever she is needed.

. . .

A huge roar of laughter came in unison out of the audience in the theatre room, and the four friends snapped back into reality, some of them staring at the screen to try to catch the residual scene that they missed, and the others looking around the theatre room shocked at the loud uproar.

Out of the four classmates sitting next to each other, none of them were actually watching the movie.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading this new chapter. Your follows and favorites make my heart swell :) I'm becoming more obsessed with the series by the day. And reading fanfiction really helps fill the gaps while waiting for the next episode. There are so many talented writers on this website, I love reading the stories and seeing different perspectives of how some people imagine/re-imagine different scenarios.**

 **Feel free to leave me a comment of PM if you want to fangirl over the show**


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter IV._

The movie was less than halfway through, and the bag of popcorn shared between Alya and Nino only had a few handfuls left. Nino, and unknowing to him, Alya, were inwardly cheering at the amount of buttery calories they had ingested in order to help their friends. The remainder of the popcorn was scarfed down very quickly as the wingmen found a spark of motivation in seeing that the bag was almost empty. _This plan is going to work, it has to!_ Nino thought to himself while munching on the last of the movie snack. As soon as he swallowed, he spoke quietly "Oh dang, we're out of popcorn."

Alya mirrored his false disappointment, "Oh shoot, I guess we should grab a refill."

"Marinette come with-"

"Nino, why don't you join-"

The two schemers spoke in unison as they attempted to invite their counterparts to join them. Nino turned to Alya and spoke in a loud whisper, "It's okay Alya, stay here and enjoy the movie, I'll just go with Marinette."

Alya glared at him while feigning politeness, "It's alright, I don't mind, we shared this bag of popcorn so it only makes sense that we go together." Despite her language, irritation was clear in her tone. "Let's not bother Marinette and Adrien" She spoke as if she was trying to get an underlying message across—one that completely slipped by Nino.

Alya and Nino stood up at the same time. She grabbed onto Nino's arm to pull him towards the exit of the theatre room, but before he could be dragged in Alya's desired direction, he reached over Adrien and grabbed onto Marinette's arm. "Come on Marinette, let's go get some more popcorn, Alya, why don't you stay here and keep my seat warm." To Alya's irritation, he forcefully pushed her into his seat so that she was sitting next to Adrien, and pulled Marinette's up on her feet. Nino then shoved the empty popcorn bag into her arms to reaffirm her task of 'refill duty'.

. . .

Adrien jumped when Nino grabbed onto Marinette suddenly, and looked around at the surrounding audience members to see if they were being disrupted, which they visibly were. He was very confused with the seemingly abrupt commotion. First of all, the large bag of popcorn shouldn't have been finished that quickly. Even on a good day, he and Nino could barley get through half of the bag before the end of a movie. But that was the least of his confusion. Since when did refilling a bag of popcorn require two people? And why did Alya want Nino to join her so badly? On the other hand, why was Nino so determined to have Marinette join him instead?

He looked over at Marinette who gave an uncertain look to Alya as Nino attempted to drag her away towards the door. Adrien, confused and slightly embarrassed at the small disruption his friends had caused in the theatre, stood up and took the bag from a conflicted Marinette. He whispered loud enough for the four friends to hear "Don't worry guys, I'll just go on my own."

"NO!" Alya and Nino shouted together, and exchanged confused looks. Their loud outburst during a suspenseful action scene earned them quite a few irritated glances and some shushes from the more outspoken audience members. Alya and Nino cowered slightly in embarrassment at their behaviour and sunk back into their seats.

Adrien looked over at them also embarrassed and conflicted. _My friends are all insane._ He shook his head as he made his way to the door. But before he could take more than two steps, he heard a soft voice behind him speak, "I'll come with you."

He turned to see Marinette standing up while timidly looking at the ground. She picked up the half-eaten bag of popcorn that she and Adrien shared and fiddled with it in her hands. While still avoiding eye contact, she continued, "W-we might as well get our bag topped off." She ended her sentence staring up at him, with the same pleading look as earlier.

That's when Adrien understood. He realized that the nerves, stuttering, and avoiding eye contact were not over her disliking him. Marinette, just like he, had a desire to please the people around her. And for whatever reason, she seemed to value his opinion of her. That's why she was so cautious of saying or doing the wrong things around him—or at least as far as he had figured. With this revelation in mind, Adrien smiled while staring into the big blue eyes of his classmate and nodding, "Yeah of course, great thinking Marinette!" His attempt to be extra friendly earned him a loud _shhhh_! He realized his newfound enthusiasm came off a lot louder than intended. Marinette smiled and let out a giggle at Adrien's sheepish expression as he apologized.

The two teens walked quickly out of the theatre, and once they were in the main foyer, Adrien let out a sign of relief while Marinette continued her giggling. Although he was embarrassed, he was also glad that Marinette got a laugh out of it. He had seen her laugh before from a distance, but he realized how much cuter it was up close.

. . .

Marinette was genuinely surprised at herself for offering to join Adrien to get more popcorn. But her nerves were released after giggling at Adrien's flushed cheeks outside of the theatre room. _He's so cute when he's embarrassed,_ she thought to herself _._ Adrien smiled at her seeing the humor in their friends' and his own behaviour, and let out a small chuckle.

"I'm sorry about Nino," he apologized on his friend's behalf with a small grin, "sometimes he could be a little rash." Marinette reminisced on their friends' behaviour with laughter in her eyes "Don't worry about it, Alya is totally the same way" she said with a bright and understanding expression. She thought about Alya and how her impulsiveness was a quality that made her best friend truly stand out. It was also the quality that made her to push Marinette outside of her comfort zone whenever she needed it. She smiled at herself thinking about how truly lucky she was to have Alya by her side.

Adrien interrupted her thoughts as he attempted to kick start the conversation, "They're both really great, there's no doubt about that, but weren't they both acting kind of weird today?" He looked at Marinette who's cheeks began to flush.

 _Oh my god, he's onto me! Breath, Marinette calm down, there's no way he would actually know what was up. Then again Alya wasn't exactly being discreet in the theatre. Oh god he's looking at me. Marinette, just say something. Cool, calm, collected, and breath!_ Marinette took a deep breath to calm herself down as she spoke nervously, "W-what do you mean? No one was acting strange. I mean they weren't strange at all from what I noticed. I mean, maybe just a little. I mean. . . Alya loves popcorn." She spoke quickly and flinched at her own attempt at conversing. _Smooth._

Marinette looked at Adrien attempting to read his expression. He appeared confused at first, but his lips slowly turned upwards into a humoured grin. Her face started to burn, and she turned away before Adrien could see her cheeks turn into the same bright red as her Ladybug mask, sans the spots or transformation.

Little did she know, Adrien's grin was in watching his classmate's adorable reaction to a simple question. Although Adrien wished that his friend had more confidence in herself, he found her bashfulness very endearing.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! The first thing I did after waking up this morning was scroll through Miraculous fan art on Pintrest for two hours. Needless to say, I'm a piece ML trash.**

 **I really want to improve on my writing, so p** **lease let me know what you think of the story so far! Thank you so much for keeping up with this story, it means a ton :)**

P.S. Thanks gottaluvlife27 for being the first to comment. Much appreciated ^_^


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter V._

Alya was beaming. It wasn't just a small subdue smile, but a ridiculously wide grin.

Nino stared at the girl sitting next to him in the theatre in astonishment. First she tries to get Adrien's attention at school whenever she is given an opening. Then when she has a chance to be near him, she chooses the seat furthest from him. Next, she enviously looks over at Adrien and Marinette while drowning her sorrows in popcorn. And when she is given another chance to get closer to him, she refuses to take it. Finally, even after completely missing two _perfect_ opportunities, she can't help but grin like a fool.

Needless to say, Nino was confused.

He came to a few different conclusions that evening:

1) Alya is painfully dense

2) Alya is bipolar

3) Alya is simply dumb.

. . .

Alya was so proud of her best friend for taking action in snagging her man. She felt like a mom watching her kid ride her bike for the first time. After basking in pride, she felt a set of eyes burning the right side of her face and snapped her head in the direction of her discomfort.

Nino was staring at her, mouth gaping and eyes wide.

"What do you want?!" Alya snapped, forgetting to maintain silence in the theatre. "You've been acting weird all night. What's going on with you?"

Nino felt like he was going to explode. "Me?! I'm the one acting weird?! You're the one who's acting strange!" He upheld his shocked expression. "Dude, I've been trying to help you out all night. But you're so dense that you can't even see it." He let out an irritated huff and crossed his arms while sinking back into his seat in frustration.

Now it was Alya's turn to be confused. "What do you mean helping me out? You got in the way all night."

Nino stood from his seat with his arms still crossed, "What are you _talking_ about?! I've been nothing but helpful. Man, you need to get yourself checked, you're completely bipolar."

"Oh you did **not** just say that!" Alya sprung up from her seat and poked Nino in the chest. "You are so annoying. Getting in the way of everything. And what is _with_ the constant staring?!"

Nino opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a deep low voice, "Excuse me."

"WHAT?!" Alya and Nino yelled at the same time while whipping their heads towards the source of the voice. A flashlight lit their faces and they tried to block it out with their arms until their eyes adjusted.

"You two need to leave." A theatre security guard stood in front of them with an unimpressed look on his face. Nino and Alya looked around at the peeved expressions of their fellow movie-goers and obeyed the officer while trying to hide their faces in embarrassment.

* * *

"No way, he did that?!" Marinette was laughing elatedly next to Adrien on a bench in the theatre lobby.

"Yeah, Nino actually tried to impress a girl by pretending he was a gymnast!" Adrien mirrored Marinette's humoured grin. "But that's not all, he attempted a front flip to show off, but ended up breaking his arm!"

Marinette exploded with laughter. "That's why he was in a cast?" She asked in between laughs. "He told everyone he got hit by a car while riding his bike."

"That was a lie!"

The two classmates had been in a lively conversation for twenty minutes. _This is great!_ Adrien thought to himself while reflecting Marinette's bright smile. _She's actually speaking to me and looks like she's enjoying it!_ After winding down from their humorous storytelling, Adrien's mind snapped back to reality. "Oh shoot, I forgot about the movie. We should probably head back." As much as he tried to sound content, he couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice. This was the most he had spoken to Marinette, and he had learned more about her during the past twenty minutes than he had during the entire school year. He always knew that Marinette was very sweet and kind, but during their time together he had uncovered a fun and quirky side to her. He added those traits to a mental list of her personality—one that he didn't even realize he created in the first place. Adrien stood up and Marinette followed. For a second he swore that he saw slight disappointment in her expressive eyes as well.

As they were walking towards the theatre room, Marinette spoke up, "One moment, I just need to run to the washroom."

"No worries, I'll wait in front of the theatre."

And with a shy smile she jogged towards the ladies' room.

. . .

As soon as Marinette knew she was out of Adrien's sight, her jog broke into a sprint as she made her way to the first available bathroom stall. In one swift motion she kicked open the door, pulled it shut behind her, locked the stall, and quickly opened her purse to allow her kwami to fly out. "Tikki, I can't believe I sat through an entire conversation with **Adrien**! And not only that, but he was having fun!" She beamed at her magical friend who mirrored Marinette's excitement as well.

Tikki let out a hearty laugh, "Great job, Marinette! Being yourself really wasn't that hard, was it? You showed him the real you, and I can tell that he liked it."

"Thanks Tikki." Marinette stared into her kwami's eyes endearingly. "I think I need to take a moment to get away from the excitement," _And slow my heartrate._ She leaned against the bathroom door and replayed the highlights of her conversation with Adrien.

. . .

Adrien leaned against a wall close to the theatre entrance waiting for Marinette to arrive when he heard familiar voices around the corner.

He walked towards the source to see Alya and Nino sitting on a bench, both appearing worn out. He was about to approach the two directly when he heard Alya speak in a tired tone, "I can't believe you thought I liked Adrien, you really are stupid." Instead, Adrien made his way closer, with stealth that could put his cat noir persona to shame, and crouched behind a promotional cardboard cut-out of the latest sci-fi movie.

"Well, whenever I was with him I noticed how you would always try to get his attention. Then there was this movie hangout-" Nino was interrupted by Alya slapping his arm.

"You are so dense."

He let out a nervous chuckle, "Yeah, I guess I missed it, huh?" There was an awkward silence between the two when Nino spoke up again, "Hey Alya, I'm really sorry about messing with your plan. I was only trying to help, honest!" He finished with a hand on his heart and the other held up in defense, almost as if he was taking a pledge.

"Don't even worry about it. It all worked out in the end!" She stood up and brushed herself off while offering a hand to Nino who gladly took it. "Let's go for a walk."

"But what about Adrien and Marinette?"

Alya groaned, "You are so dense" she repeated while rolling her eyes and pulling Nino's arm towards the exit.

Adrien sat from his crouched position, almost toppling over while attempting to wrap his head around what he had just heard. _It all makes sense now. The way she always seemed to call me over at school when Nino was conveniently around. How she asked him if she could join our movie plans. Even the way she was acting today was strange._ He recalled Alya's behaviour in the theatre: the way she was so eager to sit next to Nino and so determined to drag him out for popcorn refills. _And based on the conversation she just had with Nino, he thought she was trying to get my attention instead of his own._ Adrien shook his head at his friend's obliviousness.

It only took a few moments for Adrien to receive a text from Alya: "Hey Adrien, Nino and I decided to go for a walk. Don't worry about us, have fun with Marinette ;)" Adrien looked at the text questioningly attempting to decipher it. _What's with that wink emoji?_

"A-Adrien?" His thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice from behind him. He whipped his head around and his eyes met Marinette's big blue, and now curious, ones. He slowly raised to his feet and embarrassingly scratched the back of his head trying to think of an excuse for why he was sitting down facing the back of a cardboard cut-out.

"I-I, umm . . . dropped my ring!" He finished, pointing at the silver jewel on his finger. He felt his kwami chuckle in his pocket which made his cheeks burn a shade of pink. Marinette smiled and reached for the theatre door. "WAIT!" Adrien yelled before she could enter. She stared at him even more confused and tilted her head questioningly. "Umm . . . I need to use the washroom, wait here." Before Marinette could say anything, Adrien sped towards the men's room. Upon entering, he peered underneath all of the stalls to make sure no one was inside the bathroom. He already let Marinette believe that he was slightly crazy, he didn't need any questioning looks for talking to himself too. Adrien entered a bathroom stall and pulled his jacket open as a cue for his kwami to hoover out.

"What was that about?" Plagg asked his partner like he was out of his mind.

Adrien began explaining himself, "Just hear me out, Alya likes Nino and is now hanging out with him one-on-one. So what's going to happen when Marinette and I get back to our seats and she sees that they're not there?" Plagg opened his mouth to answer, but Adrien simply continued. "She'll probably call Alya, they'll return to the movie, and they're time together will be interrupted!"

Plagg rolled his eyes, "Kid, don't you think you're being a bit dramatic?"

Adrien responded by showing Plagg the text message from Nino, "See this last part, 'don't worry about us, just have fun with Marinette'. She even added a wink!"

"So . . .?

" _So_ she's trying to hint at me to keep Marinette occupied so that she can hang out with Nino! I need to keep Marinette distracted."

Plagg paused for a moment before responding, "Okay just wake me up when this is over." Adrien nodded with a determined expression while the kwami flew back into his inner jacket pocket.

. . .

Plagg was astounded. He knew that his miraculous holder was clueless, but didn't think that he could be just plain stupid. Even the kwami who only paid attention an eighth of the time knew about Marinette's infatuation with Adrien. By catching mere snippets of the commotion in the theatre, in between bites of the popcorn Adrien had snuck him, he knew that the girl's best friend was just trying to get the two alone together. Sure he could tell Adrien what was really going on and watch (or rather, listen to) everything fall into place, but he wanted his boy to figure things out on his own . . . _plus things are more interesting this way._ Plagg snickered at the thought of a confused Adrien. As well as the thought that he, a magical being whose mind was drawn towards cheese eighty per cent of the time, put the pieces together before Adrien even started the puzzle.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello readers, thanks for waiting for this chapter! Also thank you so much for your lovely comments, I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far :)  
Shout out to: No-one, Malife, marketeerbubbles, & Q-A the Authoress for commenting, it really makes me happy to get any kind of feedback!**

 **Finally, one of the creators said that seasons 2 & 3 of the series should be out next year! 2017 is looking bright so far! **

**P.S. Just watched _Guitar Villain_ the other day. It was a good episode. Taking my time with the last 6 eps to prolong withdrawal, so please no spoilers! Cheers.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello fanfic friends! Sorry this chapter took a while, I wasn't happy with if for the longest time. But after multiple revisions I finally decided that it is good enough to (hopefully) be worth your time. This chapter is twice as long as the others because of the delay. Thanks for sticking around ^^  
**

 **(Is this where I mention something about not owning the series?)**

* * *

 _Chapter VI._

An arcade stood two blocks away from the cinema. It had a grungy look to it that almost spelled "no adults allowed". Inside of the lively building were many kids and teenagers wasting away their afternoon in a variety of games. But no one stood out more than the two classmates who were kicked out of the movie theatre for arguing. Not to mention who ditched their friends for the sake of getting them to spend some time together to hopefully fall into a mutual fondness—emphasis on _mutual_. Alya and Nino were in the middle of a dance-off, courtesy of _Dance Dance Revolution_ , while both laughing harder than any of them had in a while. With tokens flooding their pockets and smiles splitting their faces, the reporter and the DJ danced and gamed their night away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Marinette was standing in front of the theatre room waiting for Adrien to finish his washroom run. She was slightly confused at his behaviour, but any puzzlement was overpowered by the pleasant daze that came with hanging out with him one-on-one. _Okay breathe Marinette. If you want to get through the entire night, you need to calm down._ She spoke inwardly while placing her hand on the left side of her chest to feel her heartbeat. _Still fast, but not as bad as before. Remember what Alya told you, 'cool, calm, and collected'._ As she was in the middle of her deep breathing exercises, a loud commotion at the concession stand diverted her attention.

A middle-aged lady with short brown hair that ended right above the shoulders spoke with resentment, "I asked for plain popcorn. You handed me one with extra butter. I am trying to watch my weight here." Her voice grew louder as she began to rant, "You have one job and you can't even do it right. Why are you even working here?!"

The lady's bitterness was directed at a curly-haired ginger behind the counter—the same guy who filled Alya's order before the movie began and refilled the popcorn bags for them as well. Wincing at every word the customer spat at him, the employee cowered behind the counter while nervously adjusting the thick black frames on his face. Marinette watched as the poor worker raised his hands defensively and apologized. The lady placed the bag of popcorn on the counter while continuing her rant. Everyone within a thirty-foot radius was drawn to the direction of the disruption, many expressing pity for the part-time employee.

The lady continued speaking to the worker about not being able to do his job right and demanding to speak to his manager. While making dramatic motions with her hands she unintentionally, yet forcefully, knocked over the bag of buttery popcorn which scattered all over the counter, floor, and of course the unfortunate worker. Marinette witnessed the employee's cheeks turn even redder than they had been previously. They could even be compared to Marinette's flushed face whenever she did something embarrassing in front of her crush.

The ginger pushed passed the other workers behind the counter and ran towards the staff room. His eyes were clouded and he was visibly blinking back tears. Even though Marinette was far from the scene, she felt as though it was her obligation to comfort him. She eyed the "Employees Only" sign ready to make her way over. However, before she could even take a couple steps, her attention was once again diverted, but this time to her vibrating phone.

Marinette pulled out her cell phone and read the latest message. "Girl, good on you for getting cozy with Adrien! I'm with Nino now. Got kicked out of the theatre, long story so I'll tell you later. Don't worry, we won't interfere with your one-on-one time ;) Text me if you need me." She smiled at the text message while running through scenarios that could have possibly gotten her friends escorted out of the movie. _Well, it is Alya we're talking about here. . ._ While lost in thought, she didn't notice Adrien's hesitant appearance.

. . .

 _Okay, just propose the idea. She won't think that you're strange . . . I mean it's normal for someone to want to have a nice conversation instead of wanting to watch a movie, right?_ He coward at his own thoughts. _What if I was the only one who enjoyed the conversation? What if she would rather see the movie but just doesn't want to hurt my feelings?_ He approached her while scratching the back of his head nervously before speaking. "H-hey Marinette," She quickly put her phone away and looked up at him, her big blue eyes encouraging him to continue. One look was enough to give Adrien some confidence in himself, so he continued to speak feeling slightly less nervous. "I know the movie is playing right now, but we already missed a big part of the plot," His eyes fell to the ground shyly before he continued "what do you say we just head back to our bench and talk some more?"

Marinette ecstatically nodded. _"Mhmm"_ was all she could muster. She let out a dreamy sigh at the thought of Adrien calling the bench _their_ _s._

 _. . ._

Marinette mentally congratulated herself at the impressive amount of progress she made with Adrien throughout the day, relative to the entire school year at least. She felt as though they hit a milestone in their connection with one another: from being simply _classmates_ to achieving the title of _friends_. And not just tentative friends as she would sometimes see him previously, in fact even that was a stretch, but after this hangout she knew that she would be fully confident in the title. Marinette inwardly squealed at the thought of being able to talk to and hang out with him casually on a regular basis. _And maybe it could eventually lead something more . . ._ Her inwards cheering came to a halt when light tickling along her side and up her neck brought her mind back to reality. Tikki stealthily shimmied up the inside of Marinette's jacket until she was close to her ear.

"Marinette! What about that poor employee. You're going to check on him, right?"

She looked at her small comrade and slowed her pace so that Adrien couldn't hear her whisper. "Stay low Tikki!" She looked around cautiously before whispering again. "I'm sure it'll be fine. And besides, Hawk Moth already akumatized the sculptor. There's no way he would send more dark energy out to overpower someone else in the same day."

"But Marinette-"

"It'll be fine Tikki! You worry too much." Marinette brushed her kwami aside while planting herself next to Adrien.

* * *

Huddled in the corner of the dark and empty staff room was the curly-haired worker, face buried in hands. He didn't bother turning on the lights as he only sought to flee the scene while refraining from any witnesses of his tear-stained face. As the ginger painfully replayed the events of the commotion while wiping away the evidence of his embarrassment, he did not notice a small black butterfly make its way into his nametag.

Negativity consumed him and a dominant voice rung through his head, _"My dear boy; humiliated_ _and_ _degraded_ _._ _I can sense your frustration."_ A wicked smile tugged at the corners of his lips and a signature purple butterfly highlighted the area around his eyes. _"I'm going to give you the power to run the show, my Filmmaker. But you must do something for me in return . . ."_

* * *

"That was fun!" Nino looked over at Alya. Both of them were pleasantly exhausted from the excitement of the arcade and were now walking through the dimly-lit streets of Paris. As much as they wanted to play more games, there were only so many tokens two unemployed teenagers could afford. They both however carried awards for their efforts in the form of small stuffed animals.

Alya laughed while reminiscing, "Yeah, it's been a while since I've had that much fun."

Nino nodded in agreeance, "Same!"

"I wonder how the two lovebirds are doing."

He laughed at the thought of two very socially awkward people forced together—courtesy of himself and Alya. "I still can't believe I missed it! But in retrospect it does make a lot of sense."

Alya punched his arm playfully "Yeah, no kidding!" She paused for a second as her tone got a little more serious. "You **can't** tell him, okay?" She wagged a warning finger in front of his face, "Marinette has to do this on her own."

"Wouldn't dream of it." They walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Nino spoke up again with a chuckle, "They're perfect for each other, aren't they?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Alya simply smiled in agreement, while hoping that the absence of frantic text messages from her best friend was a good sign.

* * *

"ADRIEN, LOOK OUT!" Marinette pulled the blonde boy out of the way of a fast moving car—which would be somewhat normal if they weren't standing in a movie theatre lobby.

No more than thirty feet away stood a paled-skinned boy with unnaturally bright red hair. His ensemble consisted of a dark blue bodysuit and a silver hoover board. He no longer wore thick frames and his nametag that once read "Sam" now spelled "Filmmaker". But the most concerning change was the large professional filming camera that he carried on his shoulder. It would've been perfectly harmless if he wasn't akumatized, but since he was it doubled as his weapon.

"What other genre would you like to see?!" Filmmaker's voice was malicious and he spoke with the undertone of evil laughter. "How about zombie apocalypse?!"

"That's not even a genre." Marinette voiced under her breath while running with Adrien in hand. They dove behind a pillar with Mariette's determined look far from faltering.

Filmmaker pointed his camera at nearby civilians and pressed a button. The device let out a bright purple beam that morphed to form a group of a dozen zombies. They appeared in front of the civilians, earning terrified screams.

Marinette watched from behind the post. _I have to transform, but I can't do it while Adrien is around!_ She desperately looked at her surroundings for an excuse, a way out, or anything that could aid her in the situation.

. . .

Marinette ran towards the vendors' stand and, with the support of one hand, leaped over the counter taking cover. Adrien followed closely, astounded by the (supposedly) clumsy girl's swift and fluid movements. _She sure is full of surprises._ He watched as she scanned the booth with eyes filled with, what he could only describe as, a sense of unwavering purpose; an expression that reminded him so much of his lady. _Where is she?_ He questioned desperately glancing around the theatre for a glimpse of red and black. Needless to say, Ladybug did not make an appearance. _I need to transform, but I can't leave Marinette here in the middle of danger._ He caught a nearby "EXIT" sign and turned to Marinette ready to lead her out of the building. But as he turned to face her, his classmate who he thought couldn't surprise him even more than she already had that day, did something both incredible and stupid . . . but mostly incredible.

The zombies were inching towards the terrified civilians who were hunched together with their eyes shut in fear. Marinette, who witnessed this while peaking up from behind the counter, urgently sprung up from the hiding spot and announced: "If you guys are so hungry, why don't you have some movie snacks?" She swung her arms forcefully, pelting each zombie square on the forehead, using candy and chocolate bars as ammunition.

Adrien gaped _WHAT WAS THAT?!_ The zombies turned to face a determined Marinette and a shocked Adrien, leaving their old targets alone and making their way towards the two classmates. Marinette grabbed cans and bottles of soda and handed some to Adrien. With armfuls of beverages, Adrien followed Marinette's lead once again as they slid over the counter and ran closer to the front doors. As she was sprinting ahead, her left foot got caught on her right and she began spiraling down. But before she could hit the ground, she felt a strong arm support her from what would've been a hard fall.

Marinette looked up trying to absorb what just happened but paused when she caught herself inches away from Adrien's face, "T-t-thanks" She managed to speak out while staring into Adrien's entrancing green eyes, and he smiled. _Now this is the Marinette I know._ He thought to himself while chuckling. Although her showing a massive amount of bravery was admirable to say the least, it comforted him to see some familiarity in her personality.

The moment however, was quickly interrupted by the zombies' loud and incomprehensible moaning as they made their way towards the teenagers. Marinette grabbed some of the cans and bottles, which were now scattered on the floor by their feet, and pelted the zombies once again. "What's wrong? Need something to wash those snacks down with?" She asked with a smirk pulling at her lips.

Adrien watched her, dumbfounded, wondering if she really was the quiet and timid girl who sat behind him at school.

. . .

The Filmmaker took notice of the commotion as Marinette knocked the last zombie to the ground with a can of Sprite. Her small smirk turned into a full poised grin and her hands were placed confidently on her hips while she admired her work. But the moment of victory did not last long as the Filmmaker vengefully approached them on his silver hooverboard, "Hasn't anyone ever told you that the director calls the shots?!" He pointed his camera at Marinette and Adrien, "What, were the racecar and zombie films not your style? Since I'm being generous, I'll add some more variety. How do you like wildlife documentaries?!" The Filmmaker let out an evil cackle as he hit the button on his filming camera. A similar large bright beam was shot in front of them, but this time it morphed into a herd of at least twenty wild bulls.

"You have got to be kidding me." Marinette groaned in annoyance while crossing her arms at her chest. She turned to her right to see Adrien's worried face. Her frustrated expression changed into one of concern. _He must be terrified! I'm used to this, but he definitely isn't. I've got to get him out of here._

 _. . ._

With a herd of buffalo appearing in front of Marinette and Adrien, he looked towards her in anticipation. He wanted to get her to safety, but in all honesty, she didn't seem to need it. _I need to transform somehow so I can defeat this guy_. Without giving it a second thought, he pulled Marinette's arm so that they were running in the opposite direction of the herd. Yanking Marinette in front of him, so that she was relatively more out of danger than he was, he led them to the emergency exit that he spotted earlier.

The frantic teenagers urgently busted through the doors and didn't bother looking back. They found themselves in a long hallway, with the exit leading outdoors appearing to be miles away in their current situation. Some of the buffalo crashed through the entrance close behind them and continued charging.

Trying to keep his panic under control, Adrien assessed the distance between them and the door at the end of the hall. _I don't know if we'll make it in time . . ._ He quickly glanced around and spotted another door along the hallway. _This is probably our best bet._ Adrien ran in front of Marinette, still holding onto her arm and used their momentum to swiftly enter the room that was off to the side. The two teens slammed the door shut behind them and listened as the stampeding buffalo continued forward.

Once the rampaging animal sounds faded, the teenagers simultaneously released a heavy breath that neither of them knew they were holding. They stayed in the dark silence of the janitor's closet both processing the situation. Adrien needed to transform as soon as possible, but his first priority would be to make sure that Marinette was okay. What he didn't know was that Marinette was faced with the same dilemma. _What should I do? I can't just leave her, but Ladybug and I need to capture Filmmaker's akuma. And what about Ladybug? What if she's out their fighting on her own, I need to help her._ As much as he wanted to stay with his blue-eyed classmate, he knew that Chat Noir needed to make an appearance ASAP. The silent tension in the room was more or less lifted when Adrien heard fumbling behind him shortly followed by a _crash_.

"Oww!" Marinette groaned rubbing her back. If they weren't just chased by zombies and buffalo, Adrien would've let out a chuckle. Instead, he desperately felt around the wall closest to the door for a light switch. A bright fluorescent light flooded the room. He turned to see Marinette sitting on the ground with her foot in a mop bucket.

 _How is it that she can be so swift and graceful one moment, but completely fall over the next?_ He wondered to himself with a small smile touching his lips. Holding out a hand, which Marinette gladly took, he helped her up.

Adrien gazed into her expressive eyes, and saw the uneasiness and concern she was feeling. After watching her in action, he knew she was far from worried about herself, instead he could tell that she was concerned for his own wellbeing and those of the civilians. "Will . . . you be alright in here?" she asked hesitantly biting her bottom lip, clearly not wanting to leave him alone. All Adrien could manage was a nod. "O-okay. I'm going to go out and get help. Please stay in here, I need to know that you'll be safe." Her voice was quiet, yet he could hear the soft pleading in her tone. He desperately wanted to come with her, but he knew that it was an opportunity to transform. As reluctant as he was to let her run off, he replied with an _"okay"_ and watched as the sweet, clumsy, funny, bold, and _caring_ girl slowly opened the closet door and raced towards the exit.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading! I FINALLY finished watching all of season one. One episode per week took an insane amount of willpower . (not gonna lie, I cheated a couple times). The final scene of the origin episodes was absolute perfection! The rain, the tone, the music . . . everything! Looking forward to season two!**

 **Leave me a comment if you liked (or disliked) the chapter, or even if you want to discuss the series. I'm honestly OBSESSED, and I love reading what you guys have to say.**

 **Happy Friday :)**


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